L3DT and Maya

[LegacY]

I searched the forums before posting this but I probably was unable to find the thread i need.

I created a custom level design...

Viewed it, made it as accurately as i wanted in the viewer...

Walked around etc to check certain spots..

It is good..

Now how can i get this map into maya 8.5 to edit, add, remove or anything else before i can export to a custom engine...

If it is not possible any alternatives of what i can do to get it into maya to edit

(even if it requires other software or something)

** all i want is the terrain into maya **

It doesnt even have to be textured.. tho itl be a plus if it is ;p

[Aaron]

Hi LegacY,

I don't know Maya, but I expect it can import the terrain as an OBJ mesh file. To export an OBJ file from L3DT, select 'file->export map' in the menu, select the 'Heightfield' option and press OK, then select the 'OBJ (Wavefront)' file format from the list, enter the desired file name, and click OK.

The steps above will import the heightmap only. I don't know the process of importing the textures into Maya, but perhaps someone else in the forums does.

Best regards,
Aaron.

[LegacY]

well i really do not need the texture.. jus the terrain itself.. i could always texture it myself in maya.. i just trying to figure out how to like copy the terrain to it and edit in their cause im trying to make an animation in maya
with halo characters and an airship landing in the middle

i have the airship and model just need to get the terrain to get inside maya so i can animate ;/

3ds max works also since you can save as maya extension or many others..

Maya supports these extensions: (If this helps)

- .ma
- .mb
- .mel
- .obj
- .wav .aif .aiff
- .mov
- .eps
- .ai
- (all image formats)
- .wire
- .prt .asm .g
- .stp .step
- .stl .sta .stb
- .iges .igs
- .dwg .gxf
- .fbx
- .dae
- .mcfi .mcfp


Those are all the extensions allowed to be imported into maya.. Any tips can help (im trying the object idea and will post with the result)


I was also looking into terragen and other software to see if i can import the land from L3DT to their software to maya but aint sure since didnt find any information yet

[Aaron]

Hi LegacY,

Thanks for the list. OBJ is supported, so to export the terrain to Maya, use the procedure given in my previous post.

Best regards,
Aaron.

PS: For completeness, L3DT's format list is on-line here.

[LegacY]

NEVERMIND!!

The object was so big i had to zoom out for awhile to see it..

Now i have to figure out if i can import texture too since its so laggy to texture myself ;/

[Aaron]

Hi LegacY,

Oh good. I was just about to suggest checking the camera zoom/pan, since I had a similar problem with rendering L3DT terrain in Blender today.

For what it's worth, I've written a new tutorial on importing L3DT terrain and textures into Blender (see here). I believe Blender can also be used to make animations like Maya, but I don't know much about the process, and I've certainly got no direct experience in Blender animation myself.

Cheerio,
Aaron.